


Xeno

by TheoreticalArtist



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Dysphoria, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Oneshot, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Matt Holt, keith think's of shiro's "patience yields focus" cliche, lotor is such a calm boi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 23:07:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheoreticalArtist/pseuds/TheoreticalArtist
Summary: Xeno n. the smallest measurable unit of human connection, typically exchanged between passing strangers, moments that are fleeting and random but still contain powerful emotional nutrients that can alleviate the symptoms of feeling alone.Idea suggested to me by @firefrostcosplay on Insta.





	Xeno

Keith had been doing well when it came to how he felt about his body. Yes, other issues like depression and anxiety would fuck him over from time to time, but his dysphoria had been at an all-time low despite being off of testosterone for a full year.

So he agreed to the conditions of the mission, not expecting it to distress him as much as it did.

Matronam, a planet with all female inhabitants known as Fremites, but caters to all species despite gender. Matt had referred to it as a "party planet," and it was easy to see why.  A small portion of the planet had been blocked off for the permanent population, and the rest had been altered to create the illusion of other biomes and worlds with multiple bars and clubs for the enjoyment of any visitors. Voltron was hoping to ally with the queen of the Fremites, but to do so, Allura needed to be accompanied by three female warriors to a conference to prove Voltron shared some of the same values. According to Coran, Fremites viewed anything other than women as inferior and tarnished; the only reason others were allowed on the planet was to collect information once they were tipsy. 

It was obvious Allura would bring Pidge along, everyone knew the pilot of the Green Lion was a brilliant young woman. It was the other two who were supposed to accompany her that caused an issue. Allura needed two individuals that knew her strategies and could back her up at a moments notice. No other women in the coalition or rebel group could do that. But, two females could.

Matt had pulled Keith aside, they conversed quietly, weighing their options. Seeing no better alternative, they announced they were willing to remove their binders for a couple of hours and pose as women if it would benefit the fight against the Galra. 

It took almost two hours to straighten their hair, apply makeup, and find old Altean armor to fit them properly, but they managed to do it. Altering the outside appearance of the two boys to make them appear more feminine. 

Everything had been going fine until a Fremite servant addressed Keith as Menalla, the name he had been given to use by Coran, it was then he realized how similar it was to his deadname, and the dysphoria began to set in and only grew worse over time. 

The meeting with the queen went exceptionally well, but as they were cutting through a small park area to get to the borders of the Fremite village where their pod was, a large group of the Fremites came running towards them in panic, pushing them apart and unintentionally dragging them into different areas of the suburbs.

Keith was in hell. The constant brushes of contact on his body, being pushed and pulled in every direction, choruses of "sorry mam" and "my apologies miss" echoing through his ears. Choking back tears he tried to pull away, only succeeding in being pushed to the ground.

Then he broke.

Weeping and crying out for people to stop, curling into a tight ball to try to diminish the feeling of his crawling skin. Only hazily aware of the sound of bombs going off in the distance.

"Miss! Miss!" Keith looked up to see the blurry figure of a Fremite. Her voice was strangely deeper than all the others, making her sound like a male instead of a female. He wiped his eyes to make sure he was seeing her correctly. "Miss! Forgive me for yelling, but we need to get to shelter now! The planet is getting bombed!"

Before Keith had time to register what the Fremite had said completely, she pulled him up from the ground, dragging him under a nearby stone structure that reminded him of a rentable park shelter back on Earth.

The Fremite continued to speak, "this isn't ideal, but it's the only thing we have nearby. Miss, are you-"

Keith struggled to control the shaking of his body, clenching his hands repeatedly to regain some form of control. The yelling, touching, misgendering and being dragged off the ground by his arm by a complete stranger, who seemed to have no sense of empathy for anyone, had destroyed his year long streak of happiness.

Keith yanked his arm away "I'M NOT A MISS! LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARD!" The Fremite immediately reeled back, and Keith flinched, realizing his mistake. Giving up, he let his legs give out and leaned back on a support pole, sliding to the ground and tucking his knees near his ever-crawling chest. 

_ Patience yields focus. Patience yields focus. Take a deep breath, calm yourself down. _ Keith buried his head in his hands, fighting back the last of his tears. 

There was a long moment of silence before he sensed the Fremite squat near him. "Do you need assistance?"

Keith couldn't bring himself to look up, "no I-well... yes. I'm sorry. There's really nothing you could do. I'm sorry for shouting. I'm sorry for being upset. It's not your fault. I have issues I need to work through, and I shouldn't be taking them out on you. I'm sorry.  Your kind thinks I'm the scum of the universe and you're right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry-"

"Please," the Fremite's voice was laced with pity, god how Keith hated that. "It's alright, I understand. If it's not too much, will you look at me?"

Hesitating, Keith lowered his hands and tilted his head up slightly. "What for?"

The Fremites body began to change. Navy blue skin ceased to glow and faded into a light purple, eyes of entirely white sclera turned yellow and blue iris' came into view, her baby blue hair became white. Her chest flattened, fin-like ears shifted into pointed Altean-like ones, and her height doubled.

"There's no need to worry. You've gotten lucky today. I am neither female nor Fremite. And though I may not know the reason for your outburst, I know that it's not always something you can help." His actual voice had an accent similar to Allura's; it was clear and pleasant. Silvery, almost. 

Keith hesitated, taking in the sight of the stranger's true form a bit longer before speaking. "Who are you then? Why would you shift like that?"

The stranger hummed, offering a hand for Keith to take, when he did, the stranger pulled him up. "You know the true reason the Fremite's altered their planet correct?" He paused briefly for Keith to nod. "Well, it is a rather weak move I suppose, but my companions and I are not in the best place currently. To get the information we needed, we had to take advantage of a particular man's intoxicated state.  When the bombing started, we had to flee to the safest area of the planet. The sky obviously is too dangerous to attempt to leave. The four I came with are female, so they were able to get into the village with ease, I just simply had to alter my form."

"That's convenient."

"Yes, I might not use my ability often, but it has gotten me out of some unpleasant situations."

The two broke eye contact at the sound of a lion roar echoing across the planet, focusing on the far end of the planet where the pandemonium was taking place. A particle barrier flickered around the village, and three blurs of color came into view, red, yellow, black. Shiro, Lance, and Hunk were taking action.

"Voltron," the stranger's eyes shined with awe and interest, "such a magnificent weapon. I merely glanced at the ship in the atmosphere when my crew and I landed; there were so many, it should've been obvious it was The Castle of the Lions."

"Yeah," Keith tried to ignore the guilt building up, layering over his dysphoria and slowly settling anxiety. Leaving Voltron had left him with a strong sense of remorse. He had made genuine friends for the first time in almost two years and left them behind to fend for themselves. All because of his determination to prove to himself that he knew who he was, a concept he questioned every day. "It is pretty magnificent." 

Silence once again fell over the two, more comfortable than before. They watched the battle in the distance with mild ease, knowing they would soon have nothing to worry about.

Out of the blue, the stranger asked, "would you like me to stay with you until the battle is finished? Until we can go our separate ways and find our friends?"

"If it's not too much," Keith replied, "it's nice to have company."

"I'm glad I can be considered a suitable companion then."

"Uh-huh... Ya know, I never got your name."

"Oh, my apologies, I'm Lotor."

"Keith."

"Well, it's nice to meet your acquaintance Keith."

"You too Lotor." 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda stretched the emotional definition of Xeno for this fic, but that doesn't matter. Feel free to leave any feedback in the comments, they fuel my existence.


End file.
